Santa Ana High’s baseball players have a fancy new pitching and fielding machine and their very own baseball and bat bags as a result of a $7,000 donation for equipment from Let’s Share, an Orange County-based charity.

“This is a whole bunch of equipment these boys have been in desperate need of and you can tell already in the way we practice,” said Santa Ana baseball coach Henry Buenrostro. “It’s a lot faster paced, it’s more organized and kids are reacting a lot better.

“We had a game against Whittier Christian this past weekend and you can tell the improvement right off the bat and you have to give credit to everything we’ve received from the Let’s Share Foundation because without them, we wouldn’t have been able to get all this stuff.”

The most visible item, called the A-Tec Power Hummer, shoots baseballs from behind the plate out to the infield automatically for fielders. It is also used as a pitching machine, ending the need for the coaches to hit infield or pitch batting practice.

Buenrostro said the machine should help the defensive and hitting techniques for the Saints.

“It’s so useful in so many different ways and it’s great for reaction time,” Buenrostro said.

The machine can pitch up to 90 miles per hour, Buenrostro said.

“It just really simulates a game type atmosphere better than anything we’ve ever had here,” he said.

Buenrostro presented a plaque to Let’s Share President Diane Bullen Monday afternoon. Each player thanked Bullen and another board member, Ellen Fowler for the machine, the bags and other equipment.

“These kids have never had anything like this and it was nice to kind of see their eyes light up,” Buenrostro said.

Buenrostro said he was appreciate of the support of one of the parents, Tony Moran, who put him in touch with Bullen and the Let’s Share Foundation.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to be partnered with a group who is so willing to contribute to the success of our students, who believe in our students and to offer our students hope,” Infante said. “It means a lot to them, the feeling that somebody cares about them and that they believe they can become successful in their program as young adults.”

“It brings us to a different level as far as leveling the playing field bringing us the equipment that we’ve needed for a while and we haven’t been able to raise the funds for,” added Santa Ana Athletic Director Brian Lillie.

The Orange County based charity, which began in 2010, reaches out to schools, churches and social service agencies to ask who needs help, said Bullen.

All of the recipients must be from Orange County.

“We are fortunate in that we get to meet our recipients,” she said. “We try to keep it very personal. We think it’s meaningful.”

Fowler, who joined the board a couple months ago, said the organization is committed to helping those in need in the county.

“It’s expensive for any parent to join the club, and (pay) your dues and the equipment, so it’s nice to know that for people who really want to do that, you can help them do that,” she said.

Quotes from Santa Ana players:

“It helps us a lot. We got catching gloves, a pitching machine and baseball bats.”

----Tony Moran, Santa Ana sophomore

“The donation means a lot. It helps us get a lot more equipment to get us better.”

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